[6foot4_82iq]

In Australia, all alcohol (yes, even beer and wine) can only be bought at designated liquor stores. The vast majority of which are only open 10AM~10PM, with a handful in Sydney and Melbourne open after midnight.

Further, public drinking is all but restricted to destitutes outside of NYE and Aus day.

Contrast that with Germany. Every two blocks there's a Späti, many open 20–24h daily, each selling beer, wine, and spirits, at all hours of the day. You'll find hordes drinking in the streets, parks, and riversides anytime weather permits. It isn't unusual to see people sharing a beer on the U-bahn on the way to the work.

One culture demonises (although indulges in) alcohol, the other embraces it.

[tcpekin]

I'm not sure that is Germany as a whole though, Berlin yes, but in Munich there are not nearly as many spatis, and from the people that I've interacted with, in smaller towns the only place to get a beer in the evening/night is the gas station.

[wink]

True. Also in Baden-Württemberg they banned selling alcohol at gas stations at certain times (iirc) and here in Bavaria there were some temporary bans (I think due to covid). But all this is /mostly/ because our (in Bavaria) shops aren't allowed to be open 24/7, it has nothing to do with alcohol per se.

And yes, in general I 100% agree with the local policy that beer is free to buy and consume from age 16. The majority of people (I know) start drinking responsibly by age 20-25 and from the stories I heard from other countries there are quite a few less hospital visits involved.

[watwut]

> in smaller towns the only place to get a beer in the evening/night is the gas station.

That is because that is only place to buy anything. You wont buy bread in small town in the night either. Because the stores are closed.

[Phillipharryt]

Saying Australian culture demonise alcohol is a laughable claim. Australian summers are about BBQs and beers on the beach.